The drama of television morphed into reality when an orchestra of rhythmic drumming sprung from the sky. I ran outside, flicking my flip flops out of the way, the sharp pebbles in the yard poking the tender soles of my feet, adrenaline providing a salve. “Thump, thump, thump, thump.” Rapid beats echoed but as they neared and intensified it rung in my ears like jackhammers. The birds perched serenely in the surrounding trees fled the branches leaving a trail of rainbow colored feathers amidst their screeching.
In an instant, a huge clunk of metal appeared. More boat than aircraft fitted with two main rotors, it flew directly overhead. For days on end this machine shook our house but I sped outside each time, my eyes turned skyward, transfixed as they disappeared behind the trees. My heart thudded and eventually slipped into a rhythm that mimicked the blades. Amused by my interest, my dad drove me to the savannah where they were landing. However, I stayed in the car, overcome by shyness as the men in military uniforms paraded about the green field. My only “experience” with the military was watching a tv show called “Tour of Duty” and the one inch plastic green Army men I collected from my baby brother’s powdered milk. I would marry these plastic men despite the infinite height difference to my dolls. A beautiful ceremony on the bedroom windowsill with the white lace curtain providing a veil for the girls.
The next time I saw a helicopter was on a school outing when we visited the airport. I stood on tiptoes on the waving gallery as the “tick, tick, tick” sounds from the igniters lit the flame in the engine. When the blades started their rotations and drowned out every other sound , I was magically cocooned in a world of metal and jet fuel. I avidly watched Tour of Duty, paying much more attention to the Huey flying on the screen.
The years passed and my heartbeat returned to normal forgetting the excitement of the skies. I was sixteen years old and wondering what I should do with life after A levels. My school hosted a career day and I decided in an instant what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After over two decades of flying Royalty, Heads of State, guys and gals who work offshore, and even a former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago I hope I can help you navigate the in’s and out’s of aviation. Some of these tips are not just for pilots and hopefully can help anyone feeling a little lost.
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If you want to be a pilot, you need to be honest with yourself. Is it because you want to wear the uniform? Is it because it sounds cool? Is it because your friend is a pilot? You can answer yes to all of these questions but you need to know that THE JOURNEY IS NOT EASY.
It starts with a aviation medical exam where your eyes, urine and bodily functions are tested every year. After fifty, you get to visit the doctor every six months. If you cannot pass your medical, you don’t have a job.
Before you even visit the Doctor for your first medical however, I always advise to do a “Discovery or Intro flight” Regardless if you want to fly helicopters or airplanes, booking at least one flight with an instructor to analyze if you really, REALLY want to do this. It’s ok if you’re afraid of heights. There’s a common misconception that if you’re afraid of heights you can’t be a pilot. MANY pilots are afraid of heights. You just have so many other things happening in the cockpit that you forget to be afraid because you’re concentrating on not falling from the sky.
Then, there’s the finances part. I’m sure many more boys and girls would be pilots if it were easily funded. The other options are to work in a field in aviation to “keep your foot in the door.” I know someone who worked in a hanger washing helicopters before he started flying. Write to companies, ask them to visit the operation, research the company, ask intelligent questions.
If you have secured funding, one way to save money is to do part of your training in your home country. Again, research schools and contact them. They would be best placed to give advice. Look up pilots on social media, ask them questions. If you have to travel overseas to train, perhaps chose a school in a country where you have family. Besides the cost of renting an aircraft, you pay for housing. Contact that long lost Aunty and Uncle and sleep on their couch if you have to.
Aviation is like a sin curve. A wave of constant up’s and down’s. I was hired at the age of twenty and laid off a few months later after five hours of flight time. The company I worked for was acquired by a foreign one and they promptly got rid of the pilots they hired last. It didn’t seem to matter that they mostly kept expats and laid off locals. I had no say in the matter. Have a back up plan, even if that means creating a website called “OnlyPans”….. to showcase your cooking skills.
If you are lucky enough to be hired by the Sky Gods, know what your next move will be. Don’t wait for time to flutter by and then nine years later you realize you have not progressed. After nine arduous months I was rehired by the same company. For that first year I was so afraid of the uncertainty, I did not take leave and accumulated over eight hundred hours of flight time- the legal limit being nine hundred at the time. I needed to be marketable but I was also teetering on the edge of burnout. I did not have a back up plan. My only skill was steering an expensive piece of metal through the air and that’s a niche industry. To progress to Captaincy you will need to acquire an ATPL, Airline Transport Pilots License. Another common misconception is that helicopter pilots are not commercial pilots or that an airplane pilot is the only commercial pilot. If I had a dollar for each time someone asked me “So yuh does fly commercial?” with a flash of disappointment when I say I fly helicopters, I would have an extra ten dollars. We all need the ATPL to progress, so know what qualifications you require and work towards that. Besides the kudos of being a captain, there’s a bump in your paycheck to help pay off those loans you took for flight school.
During your entire flight career if you work for a commercial company (yes, airplanes and helicopters) you will most likely be attending the simulator minimum once but hopefully twice a year. You study hard and try your best not to vomit on the person next to you as the motion of the sim can cause nausea. Depending on the sim availability, you may be there during normal working hours or when you are supposed to be asleep say, between midnight and six in the morning. Don’t worry, they still hold you to the same standards as the lucky ones who got the day time slots.
The majority of the industry is filled with people who just want to do their job safely and return to their families. However there are those for whatever reason feel the need to torture others. I witnessed someone make fun of a co pilot after his father passed, the same person kicked my locker and destroyed it after I reported him for bullying. I know of pilots who worry themselves sick each time they are rostered with certain training pilots. But this is not a man bashing site. My first and most memorable bully was a woman who when I was speaking on the radio giving vital information to Air Traffic Control, would “step” on the frequency so ATC would not be able to hear me and I would have to repeat myself. Do not, I repeat, do not put up with this behavior. There are so many avenues now for reporting abuses of power.
Yes, flying can become repetitive, especially of you’re doing the same thing every day. But don’t allow complacency and boredom to replace interest. You are responsible for the lives of your passengers. Take that seriously.
After all the mountains of paperwork and doing the preflight when you strap yourself in the cockpit always remember you are one of the lucky ones. My favorite part of flying is the when the engines come alive knowing I’m going to steer that hunk of metal through the air and be given the opportunity to view the earth from above- my next favorite part.
One last piece of advice. When I decided to become a pilot, someone said to me “You want to be a glorified taxi driver?” I was flabbergasted, as I did not understand how being a taxi driver was a lowly profession. Put yourself in an imaginary bubble and let negativity bounce off it. HAVE THE AUDACITY, let them think you are delusional and do what YOU want. Believe me, it’s better than carrying around an unfulfilled dream in your back pocket for the rest of your life.
You can say hi on social media on instagram @pilotsandpassports or Facebook Safia Hosein